Talking communities’ top priority is inclusion, making web conferencing technology available for everyone. The tool can be used without broadband and offers a variety of interface languages for participants from all over the world. A text-to-speech functionality as well as various settings for size and color of texts also make the tool an option for the visually impaired.

The tool does have its limitations, though. It only runs on Windows, thus excluding all Mac-users… And it seems as though desktop-sharing was also not possible.

Still we think this is a refreshing approach to online collaboration. Since the initial aim of the tool differs greatly from that of the other tools in our ranking, a comparison is not possible. But you can find out more about talking communities in a comparative study conducted by the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.

MegaMeeting is a good solution for online collaboration. The handling of the tool is a bit complicated, though and there is no real transparency in regards to pricing on the website. InstantPresenter offers functionalities that are central to holding webinars and neglects important features essential to web conferencing, such as transferal of mouse and keyboard control in desktop-sharing mode.

Agreed, there is no clear-cut distinction, but since we evaluate web conferencing solutions on webconferencing-test.com we feel that the basic terms and criteria must be defined, so that we can begin with an impartial set of distinctions when testing software. So here’s how we use the terms:

A web conference typically is a non-public online meeting with focus on collaboration. One person is the formal host, but the role of presenter can easily be switched along with keyboard and mouse control. Desktop sharing is the preferred mode for collaboration since it allows for easy exchange of information, access to various tools, and editing of files. Attendees are invited individually by the meeting host – a good software offers an invitation functionality. Other, more asymmetric forms of online meetings can also be regarded as web conferences, when e.g. a presentation is held in a rather informal setting, with few attendees who can give feedback at any time.

In a webinar the roles of presenter/moderator on the one side and attendee/listener on the other side are fixed. The attendees are invited individually by the presenter and are passive viewers/listeners throughout the entire webinar. Possible forms of giving feedback are polls, a chat function, and  question rounds that can be initiated by the moderator only. An open registration to webinars is also possible. Important functionalities are reporting – who has attended? – and archiving of the entire webinar so that it can later be published on a website or sent to the attendees.

On webconferencing-test.com we focus on software for actual web conferences and point out tools that can also be used for webinars. For more in-depth knowledge and additional infos on webinars you can visit Ken Molay’s Blog.

This leaves us with webcasts as our final term, which are another subcategory of online meetings. In general, a webcast is a live or recorded event that targets a large audience. There are no interactive elements offered at all and attendees can often participate without registering. Multimedia elements – especially video – are featured heavily in webcasts.

So, this is how we differentiate between web conferences, webinars, and webcasts. Please feel free to comment if you disagree or if you feel we have hit the nail spot-on.

With desktop sharing the focus is on the participants. The host invites the attendees to have a look at his desktop. This has the great advantage that quick change between documents and applications is possible and that the host can quickly search the file structure for an additional document if needed. If the entire desktop is shared, online meetings with external contacts may be a bit delicate if the entire desktop is displayed instead of selected applications. Also, a “messy” desktop or an unorderly file structure are sources of possible embarrassment. A good online conferencing solution should therefore definitely offer a screen cleaning function.

Web conferencing in virtual rooms focuses on the event. The atmosphere is not as “informal” as with desktop sharing. All participants meet in one room and have access to the same range of functionalities, e.g. presentation tools and a whiteboard. The possibilities of interaction are more restricted in a virtual room since documents must be uploaded and are often only accepted in MS Office or PDF format. Only few online conferencing solutions offer interactive handling of documents so that in most cases it is strictly watch or present.

Considering our focus on web conferencing solutions, desktop sharing definitely is the preferred option. If you think differently we would be glad to hear your thoughts.

Glance also made its way into our ranking. Glance offers easy access to desktop sharing and the basic functionalities you’d expect of an online conferencing tool. But that is pretty much it. Our verdict: rank 23